In May 2025, shortly after the Supreme Court decision in For Women Scotland Ltd vs the Scottish government, I wrote to all the cultural and nature institutions in London that I supported as a friend or member, asking them the following questions:
- Will you be placing any restrictions on visitors using the toilet or other gendered facilities of their choice?
- Do you intend to ask any visitors about their sex assigned at birth?
- What will you do if one visitor challenges the presence or choices of another because they believe them to be transgender?
Below are the responses I received from each one. You can click on each heading to go to the attraction's website.
Please note that at the time I'm writing this (April 2026) the Equality and Human Rights Commission has not yet issued its final guidance on "single sex" provision in the wake of the judgement. Depending on what the guidance says, it may be that some institutions are forced to make changes. But the responses I received show what they wish to do based on current information, and I think this is still valuable.
- "We provide a range of both gendered and non-gendered toilet facilities. We do not monitor or police toilet usage, as doing so carries a risk of discrimination."
- "We have no plans to ask visitors about the sex they are assigned at birth."
- "We have a zero tolerance approach to transphobia. Any behaviour found to be in breach of this – whether from staff or visitors – will be addressed promptly and appropriately."
- "We remain proud to be an inclusive and open national library, welcoming all members of the public. This means that visitors are free to use the facilities they feel most comfortable using, and we would not ask questions about someone's sex in order for them to do so."
- "In the event of any concerns or conflict between visitors, our Security Team is well-trained in de-escalation and conflict resolution, and always acts in line with our values."
- "The Museum does not have any plans to introduce restrictions on the use of toilets by visitors."
- "Similarly, the Museum does not intend to implement a procedure or policy that would involve asking visitors to state their sex assigned at birth."
- "All visitors are expected to comply with the Museum's Visitor Regulations, which include a requirement for visitors to be patient and considerate to other visitors. We have no intention of removing this requirement."
I received a stellar response from the Garden, which was long and personalised so I won't quote it, but which said:
- They have a mix of toilets and won't police who uses them. They even recognise that cis men may need to use the self-contained women's cubicles in some circumstances, e.g. to change a colostomy bag.
- They only ask about sex and gender for equality monitoring purposes.
- Their response didn't mention toilets.
- "We want all of our visitors to feel welcome at The Courtauld and will not be asking visitors about their sex at birth."
- "Our understanding is that visitors publicly challenging other visitors based on a perceived protected characteristic could amount to harassment under the Equality Act 2010. That would be our starting point if incidents of the kind mentioned were reported to us."
- "Visitors will continue to be able to use the facilities that best align with their gender identity. We do not plan to introduce new restrictions."
- "We do not ask visitors about their sex assigned at birth, and we have no intention of doing so."
- "Our staff are trained to prioritise the safety, dignity and comfort of everyone on site. If a visitor challenges or behaves in a way that makes another person feel uncomfortable or unsafe, our team will intervene promptly and we will not tolerate discrimination. We address any such incidents in line with our safeguarding and behaviour policies, focusing on respectful, inclusive treatment for all visitors. No one will be treated less favourably because they are transgender."
- "We have not changed any of our policies in response to the Supreme Court ruling or the EHRC's interim guidance. In terms of our bathroom facilities, we have gendered bathrooms as well as one separate gender-neutral bathroom with accessible facilities available for all our visitors to use."
- "We do not ask visitors about their sex assigned at birth during our visits."
- "We don't tolerate abusive behaviour, and any disruptive visitors are asked to leave."
This was the one big disappointment.
Their initial response to me said:
"In line with the interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), our single-sex facilities are provided on the basis of biological sex. We appreciate that this may be upsetting, particularly for those who may wish to use facilities that reflect their gender identity.
"So to ensure that everyone feels respected and supported during their visit, we provide gender-neutral, accessible toilets across the Gardens."
After I shared this response on social media and Kew faced a backlash, I got another response saying:
"We have reflected on the guidance and feedback received, and to continue being a space where everyone feels respected and safe, we can clarify that all visitors are free to choose the facilities they use."
Nonetheless, I did not renew my membership.
-
"We have not, and will not, restrict any visitors from using the toilet, or any other gendered facilities of their choice."
-
"Providing information on sex or gender is not a requirement of admissions, membership or other engagement with WWT."
-
"Where transphobic behaviour is observed or reported, we will respond in the same way we deal with any inappropriate behaviour at our sites. Visitors who don't behave in accordance with our inclusive values will be spoken to and, if necessary, asked to leave."
- "We do not currently place restrictions on visitors' use of toilets or other gendered facilities. Everyone is welcome to use the facilities that best align with their gender identity. We are currently undertaking a full audit of our facilities and awaiting further guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission ... before making any necessary adjustments for legal compliance. We do have gender neutral facilities and this is something that we will be aiming to include in any new developments."
- "We will not be asking any visitor about their sex assigned at birth. We do not think that this is appropriate and goes against our values of dignity and respect."
- "If a visitor challenges the presence or choices of another based on their perceived gender identity, we will deal with it sensitively and on a case-by-case basis. Discrimination or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated."
- "We will follow external advice from relevant advisory bodies when it is published. In the meantime, the Gallery will continue with its current practice of not placing any restrictions on visitors using toilets nor asking visitors about their sex assigned at birth."
- "We will address any issues around challenges if they arise, but as a Gallery for the Nation we welcome everyone."
- "Please be assured that the Natural History Museum is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all. We are currently reviewing the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling and awaiting further clarification and industry-specific guidance."
- "We remain absolutely committed to the Hall being a place for everyone and will continue to do everything in our power to ensure everyone feels welcome and safe here. This means our facilities will continue to include all-gender toilets available to audience, staff and contractors."
- "We do not ask customers about their sex or gender."
- "Whenever we are faced with any disagreements between audience members we do all we can to diffuse the situation and to treat everyone with respect."
- "We invite all our visitors to use the facilities they feel most at home with using. We will not be performing any sort of checks or challenges to this choice."
- (Regarding transgender visitors being confronted by other visitors) "I'm unable to share any internal memos on how we act, but we will support the person being picked on and de-escalate from there."
I'm not actually a member of the V&A, but one of my followers on social media wrote to them and kindly shared the response with me. They said:
- "Based on the interim guidance, no changes to our facilities or policies are required. This means that we continue to have a range of single sex, mixed sex and accessible toilets available across all V&A sites, and staff are on hand to direct visitors to whichever bathroom they feel comfortable using."
- "Equally, we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. If anyone you know experiences transphobia at the V&A site, please speak to staff for support."
- "Safeguarding our staff and our visitors is a key concern to us, and we will continue to provide fully individual, non-gendered washroom units that preserve access, equality and privacy for all users."
- "Inclusivity awareness, unconscious bias and de-escalation training are mandatory for all our teams."